In addition to other online resources, Dictionary.com is one of my go-to apps on my smartphone. While I’m typing on my laptop, I keep my smartphone within hand’s reach to tap on the app whenever I need to confirm the definition or spelling of a word -- or to tap into its thesaurus to find synonyms or variations of a word. Nothing worse than reading the same word in the same paragraph too many times.
Dictionary.com launched in 1995 as one of the first reference sites on the World Wide Web. Its content is pulled from Random House Unabridged Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, and other credible sources.
As society evolves, so does language. Eventually, dictionaries must be updated to reflect the broader use of “newly-tweaked” words, phrases, or the invention of new words entirely. Dictionary.com just updated 15,000 entries to clarify definitions especially as they relate to race, identity, sexual orientation, and mental health.
We don’t often learn how words end up in dictionaries. But when I read Leah Asmelash’s article, it was refreshing to learn from her interview with John Kelly, a senior editor at Dictionary.com that "The work of a dictionary is more than just adding new words. It’s an ongoing effort to ensure that how we define words reflects changes in language – and life." "...Our revisions are putting people, in all their rich humanity, first, and we’re extremely proud of that."
Now, as I speak, write, and listen, I will be mindful of these new words -- and also be in the know.
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